From the Digital Gallery

An historical account of coffee, ..., 1774

ExhibitionProducing Food / Negotiating Power

The Potomac River was a lucrative source of trade and commerce for planters and slaves who, when possible, used the informal economy to barter and exchange fish for other goods.

George Washington used the Potomac River for an extensive fishing enterprise, and grew food for sustenance and commerce. Washington relied upon the skill, labor, and knowledge of the slaves at Mount Vernon for much of his wealth. Slaves used this position as a negotiating tool to bargain for labor arrangements that provided some degree of autonomy.

Courtesy of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association

Catching dinner

“Coffee” plate from A Curious Herbal, ..., Elizabeth Blackwell, 1737

Courtesy National Library of Medicine

Raw coffee beans from the Caribbean

Merchant ships transported coffee beans from the West Indies to colonial ports. George Washington imported large amounts of beans often exchanging shad or herring caught from the Potomac River for coffee.